Celebrating 12 Years!

Today is the twelfth birthday of Papercut Interactive. Building a business is tough, and we've seen a lot of change. I thought I'd take some time to look over the past 12 years and list a few of the lessons that I've learned.

A few years ago we went through a branding process for Papercut and out of that came a list of the things we value. Some companies come up with grandiose and wordy mission and values statements, but I like simple. Something you can remember and make a part of everything you do. At Papercut, we value: Clever Folks, Kind Actions, and Awesome Work.

Here's how these values have shaped some lessons I've learned in the past 12 years.

Clever Folks

Working with clever folks is a must. Being around people that are inspired and inspire others feeds our company. I've been lucky enough to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am. It makes Papercut and exciting place to be.

They're also fun and funny. It's nice to walk into an office where the mood is positive and lively. I've been in offices before that seems like a weight is added to your shoulders just because of the ho-hum looks on some of the workers. You spend a large part of your day (and life for that matter) with the people you work with. Why not strive to make it a good place to be?

Kind Actions

Being kind goes a long way. Papercut has a good reputation in our industry and the community. That is due in large part to kind actions.

Sometimes it's difficult to go "above and beyond" – but sometimes it's necessary. Clients choose us to build websites because they can't build one themselves. A lot of times technology can be intimidating. Being kind, easy to work with, and making the process smooth goes a long way with clients.

I remember one marketing director who was having nightmares about building a website. The project seemed like such a daunting task that it was put off for far too long. We were able to assuage her fears and assure her that we were there to do the heavy lifting so she could sleep tight.

Awesome Work

Taking pride in what you do shows. We stay as up-to-date as possible on changes and new ideas in the web world. We don't want to just build another website because it pays the bills, we want to be able to say with a smile that we built a site. One that we are excited to show off.

Now more than ever, we're creating websites that we love to show. We also work on how we work and better our processes in order to make our awesome work even more awesomerer (not sure how many "er's" are appropriate there).

I am thankful to be a part of Papercut Interactive. And, I'm happy that we are able celebrate 12 years of clever folks, kind actions, and awesome work.

About the Author

Jason gets it. His leadership has made Papercut the forward-thinking web shop people rely on. He keeps tabs on our industry and our business, ferrets out what’s really important, and lets the rest of us get to work.